Nine-year old Kento Ishikawa began piano lessons with his mother at the age of four. During the pandemic, Kento studied online with Izumi Yamashita for one year. Since the summer of 2021, he has been studying with Micah Yui at the Colburn School in Los Angeles where he performs regularly in recitals.

This past year, Kento won first prizes in the California Association of Professional Music Teachers Sonata/Sonatina Competition Advanced Complete 1 category, the Honors Competition State Final, and the IAPMT Concours International de Musique Online Virtuoso Division. In addition, Kento has also won first prizes in the Southern California Junior Bach Festival, CAPMT Concerto Competition, and second prize in the Sejong Music Competition.

As a winner of the Bellflower Symphony Concerto Competition, Kento has performed Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 1, and as a winner of the LA Youth Philharmonic Orchestra Piano Concerto Competition, he performed Mozart Piano Concerto No. 2. This past summer, Kento was a student at the Montecito International Music Festival in California.

Kento’s dream has always been to become a professional pianist. Outside of music, he enjoys playing tennis and riding his bicycle.